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“Hey,” I said, as I answered the phone. I just knew it was Adriana, despite the number coming from an unknown caller.
“Oh good,” she whispered, halfway sobbing as she spoke through waning tears. “You’re still alive.”
“Did you think the Reeds would kill me?” I asked.
“The Reeds?” She said, “No! I thought my father had out a hit on you.”
I laughed.
“Hey, that’s no laughing matter!” She said. I loved to hear the worry in her voice, because it displayed her nurturing side. She would make an excellent mother to my children, if she wasn’t pregnant already. We’d only been completely physical the one session, but I knew that she was ready to conceive.
Still, it wasn’t the main thought on my mind, because if I couldn’t see her, I would go crazy.
“I’m still alive,” I told her. “Did your father tell you he was going to put out a hit on me?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “Where are you, Brody?”
“Where are you?” I asked.
“I’m still at the safe house, dad’s asleep,” she said. I calculated the distance it would be to get to mine, and went through my mental Rolodex of who could pick her up. There was only one man, Carlo, but he was out drinking tonight. I had given him some time off, and wanted to wait to use him at a later time, when I really needed him.
Still, the night would be dangerous, and I didn’t want Adriana coming out to me alone.
“I’ll come get you,” I said.
“No, there are too many watchful eyes,” she protested. “But I have an idea. Can you get a small boat?”
“Of course, who do you think I am?” I asked. Maybe I wasn’t all powerful, but I had pretty big perks in my life. I owned several boats, and I knew just what she was thinking. I would sail down the river and come get her, then have her all to myself.
“How long before you’re ready?” I asked.
“Just call me when you get here,” she said, and I was off. I assume that she was doing the same. Just a few minutes from the safe house where her father had met with her and I, was a small dock that overlooked the Chicago River where she could go on a walk without being bothered.
The main risk would be leaving her out in the dark, but I pushed to get there quickly. I dressed in warm clothes, and hoped for the best. My boat was pretty well-kept but it was only big enough for the two of us. I sped down the river like my life depended on it, because without Adriana life wasn’t worth having anymore.
I pulled up near the dock by her father’s safe house and saw a dark figure walking along the riverbank. When I got close enough, I saw that it was Adriana, and breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s too dark for them to follow me out on a walk,” Adriana said, her breath forming little clouds into the open air. “But we need to hurry anyway, because once they find out I’m gone…”
I didn’t care how late it was, I had been aching for her, and within the hour we were back at my secret loft apartment. Adriana got settled onto the couch, sitting primly and properly.
I made the first move.
“Wait,” she said, as I went in for a kiss. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
I stopped, a bit exasperated, because I was tired of waiting for her. I was tired of hiding my desire for her. I was ready to beg and grovel for her, but Adriana stopped me from doing that too.
“No, I’m serious,” she said. “The way my father was talking…I don’t know…if he were to catch us…he told me to never see you again. You don’t understand.”
“Of course, I do,” I said. I had known Frank for years. There was nothing that she could say that would surprise me about him. Frank was prone to anger, and he was being unreasonable about everything. I didn’t blame him, but we had done a great job at hiding our relationship.
If anything, Frank was being paranoid with little to no evidence. That’s why, when Adriana started crying to me and telling me everything, I sat with her, comforting her, and letting her know that we would find a way through this.
“He said that…” Adriana said through broken tears, “that not even God could convince him that you and I should see each other.”
“It’s ok,” I said. Frank was prone to hyperbolic threats and sayings, especially when he was upset. I just had to shift the influence in my favor, and I knew taking a chance on Adriana was worth it.
Like I said, I was a rich man, with a lot of influence. I was going to get the girl, because she was mine to have, and I would stop at nothing to have her.
